Rental Market News
U.S. Asking Rents Rose 0.4% in February—A Small Increase, But the First in 6 Months
Landlords may have more leeway to raise rents next year because apartment construction is slowing, which could eventually lead to more renters than vacant units.
D.C. Rents Up 2.7% in February Following 3 Months of Declines; Too Soon to Tell if Whether Federal Job Cuts Will Affect the Market
The median rent in the District of Columbia rose 2.7% year over year in February, following three months of declines. Rents have been falling most

A Minimum-Wage Worker Would Have to Work 106 Hours a Week to Afford the Typical U.S. Apartment
That’s down from a peak of 125 hours when rents hit a record high in 2022. New Hampshire’s minimum-wage workers have to toil longest to
Austin Asking Rents Drop 16% in January—More Than Any Other Major Metro—And Are Now $400 Below Their Record High
Nationwide, the median asking rent was little changed from a year earlier, down 0.1% to $1,599. But rents may inch up if demand outstrips supply
Downtown Seattle Rents Rise for the First Time in 17 Months as Amazon Workers Go Back to the Office Full Time
The median asking rent for an apartment in downtown Seattle grew 2.5% year over year in December to $2,000—the first rise in 17 months. Seattle
Renters Need to Earn $63,680 to Afford the Typical U.S. Apartment—the Lowest Amount in 3 Years
Renters need to earn $63,680 to afford the median asking rent for a U.S. apartment—the lowest income required since early 2022. Texas metros Austin, Houston
Permits to Build U.S. Apartments Drop Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Developers obtained permits to build 12.4 multifamily housing units for every 10,000 people in the U.S. over the past year—down 27.1% from the pandemic building
U.S. Asking Rents Fell Slightly in March, But Tariffs Could Drive Up Costs for Renters
The median asking rent dropped 0.6% year over year to $1,610, the 13th-straight month in which rents have been fairly stable. New tariffs could increase
Homebuyers Need to Earn Over $50,000 More Than Renters to Afford Monthly Payments—And the Gap Is Widening
Americans need an annual income of $117,000 to afford the typical home for sale. That’s 82% more than they need for the typical rental, up
America’s Renter Population Grew 1% in the Fourth Quarter
New York and Los Angeles are the only metro areas where the majority of households rent. Renting is least common in Cape Coral, FL and
The Rise of the Rich Renter
Affluent renters have become more common in 35 of the 50 most populous U.S. metros since 2019, with Raleigh and Orlando seeing the biggest upticks.
New Apartments Are Filling Up at Nearly the Slowest Pace on Record, But That May Change as Builders Pull Back
Just 47% of newly-built apartments completed in Q3 were rented within three months as a record number of new apartments hit the market. But construction